Riverdale to amend sewer charges

The Borough Council voted 5-1 to introduce an amended sewer rate ordinance during its Feb. 19 meeting.

In January, residents saw their sewer billing change from a fixed-rate to a rate based on average use.

The borough calculated how much water residents used in the first and third quarters to determine how much to charge for the sewer bill.

The new usage-based billing method caused problems for over 30 residents who saw their sewer rates increase, some by as much as three times more than what they paid before.

At the previous council meeting on Feb. 3, Mayor William Budesheim said that this sharp increase for one resident was due to using a sprinkler system.

Budesheim said although water from a sprinkler system goes into the ground, it does not go into the sewer system. He urged the governing body to go back to the flat-rate system for sewer billing.

In a separate interview with Suburban Trends, Councilman Ted Guis said municipalities typically charge sewer rates based on water usage.

"There is no way to accurately measure sewer effluent because the pipes are only half full. There are meters out there, but they have questionable accuracy. So typically sewer billing is based on water usage with the assumption that most of the water that you generate goes into the sewer," said Guis.

He added, "Most towns do it based on the third and fourth quarter, when you are not doing a lot of car washing, and the lawn sprinklers, and things like that."

At the Feb. 19 meeting, Guis was the sole no vote against introducing the amended sewer rate ordinance.

Guis said businesses are charged more for sewage than residents He said he does not think it is right to ask a "nonresident to subsidize residents."

"Commercials pay $14 based on water usage with a minimum fee of $480 [which is the same as residential], and if their usage goes over a certain amount, they pay more," Guis told Suburban Trends.

"My only point is why should one class of customer pay more than another? It should be the same. If you want to do a flat rate, do a flat rate across the board, and anything over 30,000 gallons, charge the additional rate," Guis also said.

Not all of the council members agreed with Guis. Many said businesses can recuperate those extra costs, whereas a homeowner cannot.

At the meeting, Councilman Gary Mastrangelo said he does "not have a soft spot in his heart for businesses."

"When those same businesses have tax appeals and we end up giving back $50, $60 $70, $80,000 in tax appeals. I really don’t have a soft spot," said Mastrangelo.